Fresno State grabs TV spotlight
By Dayton Morinaga
Advertiser Staff Writer
There is only one sure way for the University of Hawai'i men's basketball team to play on national television this season: advance to the Western Athletic Conference Tournament championship game.
According to ESPN's 2001-02 college basketball schedule released yesterday, only three games involving WAC teams will be televised, and one is the WAC championship on March 9. Another WAC game will be televised on ABC, which is ESPN's parent company.
"That's fine with me," UH head coach Riley Wallace said. "I'd love to be on ESPN, but there are only a limited number of (WAC) games they can show, so I can see how we weren't picked."
Each regular-season WAC game scheduled for national television involves Fresno State: University of San Francisco at Fresno State, Dec. 4 on ESPN2; Tulsa at Fresno State, Jan. 5 on ESPN2; Oklahoma State at Fresno State, Feb. 10 on ABC.
In June, the WAC agreed to a three-year contract with ESPN for both football and basketball broadcasts. Last season, UH played eight nationally-televised games on Fox Sports Net.
"There is still room for ESPN to pick up more games should the right situations develop," according to Jeff Hurd, WAC senior associate commissioner.
Chaminade is the only Hawai'i school scheduled to appear on ESPN. Six games of the Maui Invitational will be televised, including the first-round game between Chaminade and South Carolina.
• Decision day: The NCAA Division I Board of Directors is scheduled to meet in Indianapolis today to rule on several issues, including a policy that could reduce penalties for current NCAA players who may have played with professionals in Europe before enrolling at American schools.
Three UH players are under investigation for past participation in European leagues: Predrag Savovic, Luc-Arthur Vebobe and Mindaugas Burneika.
Last week, the NCAA Division I Management Council recommended a policy that would penalize a player 20 percent of the games he played with professionals in Europe, but no more than eight games.
If that policy is not passed by the Board of Directors, players will be penalized one game for every game played with professionals.
"I'll be worried if it doesn't pass," Wallace said. "If it doesn't, there could be a lot of lawsuits because a lot of players will lose a lot of games."
Vebobe, who is believed to have played between nine and 11 games with pros in France, said: "I don't think it's fair, but I can't do or say anything about it. What ever they decide, I have to do."
• Injury update: Sophomore forward Phil Martin could miss the first six games of the season with what has been diagnosed by team doctors as a "low-high grade-2 sprain" of his left ankle.
Martin, a starter last season, injured the ankle during Monday's practice, and is expected to be sidelined for four weeks.
Senior forward Mindaugas Burneika was cleared to practice yesterday after straining his left ankle two weeks ago.
Predrag Savovic has been practicing with occasional pain in his left knee, although MRI tests last week revealed no significant damage.
• Rosters set: Five walk-ons made the UH roster this season — 5-foot-4 guard Lance Takaki, 5-9 guard Gabe Lombard, 5-10 guard Ryne Holliday, 6-6 forward Dan Pickart, and 6-10 center Joshua Stanhiser.
